World News: Probe begins after seven die in hotel gas explosion

AN investigation was under way today after a huge gas blast devastated a resort hotel on Mexico's Caribbean coast, killing seven people, including five Canadian tourists.

Two Mexican employees of the sprawling, 676-room Grand Riviera Princess hotel in Playa del Carmen, south of Cancun, were also killed in the blast, said Francisco Alor, attorney general of Quintana Roo, where the resorts are located.

Two other Canadians had severe injuries and were in a critical condition. Ten others, including two US citizens and eight Mexican hotel employees, suffered less serious wound

Mr Alor described a horrific scene in which the floor of the building was effectively hurled through the ceiling by the force of the explosion, blowing out windows and sending fragments of aluminium window and ceiling panels over a wide area. The blast occurred on the ground floor of one of a dozen or so buildings that make up the huge hotel and left a crater a yard deep.

Initial investigations suggested the gas that exploded beneath the building was apparently not for cooking, but rather a mix of gases from a nearby swamp.

Sarkozy promotes faithful allies

Nicolas Sarkozy appointed a new government in a weekend reshuffle with faithful allies taking top posts in a move aimed at pleasing his conservative ranks before France's 2012 presidential election. Former prime minister Alain Juppe was put in charge of defence.

Thousands flee N Korea

South Korea says that the number of North Koreans defecting to the South has surged in recent years because of economic suffering in the North, with more than 10,000 defections over the past three years alone.

Most defectors travel through China to reach South Korea.

Briton killed in carjacking

A BRITISH woman was killed in a carjacking while she and her husband were on honeymoon in Cape Town, South African government officials said today.

A spokeswoman for the Western Cape provincial government said the woman's body was found in a Cape Town township this morning.

Gunmen had forced her husband from their car last night and driven off with her. Her husband was unhurt. Police are still pursuing the gunmen.

Metro helps pilgrims progress

Saudi Arabia has unveiled an elevated light railway that will shuttle some Muslims beginning the haj between Islam's holy sites.

The new 11-mile service, dubbed the Mecca Metro, is part of plans to turn the ancient city of Mecca into a modern metropolis and ease crowding.

Jet forced to turn back by electrical fault

Australia: A Qantas Boeing 747 jet bound for Argentina returned to Sydney after experiencing a suspected electrical fault.The incident comes after a Rolls-Royce engine on one of the airline's Airbus A380 superjumbos disintegrated in flight early this month.

Israel: An Israeli intelligence official said Hamas rulers in the Gaza Strip had rockets that could travel 50 miles - putting the coastal city of Tel Aviv within range.